Serbia To Continue 'Friendy' Policy Toward Russia

Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic says his country has proved its "friendly attitude" toward Russia when it refused to impose sanctions against it, and pledged to continue this policy.

Speaking in Moscow on October 27 following talks with Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, Vucic said, "Serbia will remain a friend of Russia for rational reasons."

He also said Serbia was close to conclude an agreement with Gazprom on expanding a gas storage facility to 1 billion cubic meters.

The Serbian prime minister invited Medvedev to pay an official visit to Belgrade next year.

Despite Serbia's desire to become a member of the European Union, ties between Belgrade and Moscow have become stronger since the bloc started imposing sanctions on Russia for the Kremlin's annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula and support for separatists in eastern Ukraine.